Gabriel Bortoleto received the checkered flag of the Formula 1 Canadian GP in 13th place. In the race held this Sunday (24), he climbed positions and took advantage of retirements to finish within the top 15.
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The weather conditions were quite adverse on this race day. The thermometer temperature was 12ºC while the asphalt reached 17ºC, with humidity around 77%.
For the start of the race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Bortoleto chose to fit intermediate tires – therefore, for a wet track, not very wet. Others who also chose this were his teammate Nico Hülkenberg, the McLaren and Cadillac pairs, and Carlos Sainz.
The lights went out, but the start was aborted due to problems at the beginning of the race. As a result, the competitors went out for two more formation laps and the race was reduced to 69 laps.
Now yes, the start was authorized for the Formula 1 Canadian GP and Gabriel rose to 12th with the retirement of Arvid Lindblad, who could not even leave the grid and went straight to the pits. Shortly after, Fernando Alonso overtook and Gabriel fell again to 13th.
Already on the third lap, Bortoleto and Hülkenberg, as well as the McLaren pair, went to the pits to change the intermediate tires. The Brazilian switched to soft tires and returned to the track in 20th.
Ten laps completed in Montreal and Gabriel was in 19th place, 4.2 seconds behind Lance Stroll, who was ahead and gradually pulling away.
Soon after, the race direction informed that an incident involving Bortoleto was noticed – going off track at turn 13 and gaining an advantage. At this moment, the driver of car #5 passed the Canadian Aston Martin driver.
A new retirement in the race and one more position for Gabriel: Alexander Albon was hit by Oscar Piastri and with that, the Brazilian moved up to 16th. Hülkenberg was ahead with a 5.8-second gap but was under investigation.
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On lap 19, Gabriel then entered the pits while in 15th place. The driver of car #5 had a 2.6-second stop and put on medium tires, returning to the track in 17th.
The Audi driver maintained 16th position for a few laps without letting Sergio Pérez get closer ahead. But gradually, he started to reduce the gap to Esteban Ocon, being only 0.5 seconds behind the French Haas driver. On the next lap, he passed and was in 15th.
In a twist, George Russell retired with car problems. At this moment, a virtual safety car was deployed on lap 30. The race restarted on lap 34 and the Brazilian was in 14th, one position behind where he started the Formula 1 Canadian GP.
Another retirement in the Montreal race and thus, another position gained for Bortoleto, who moved up to 13th with 24 laps to the checkered flag. There have been five retirements in the race.
On lap 46, there was a brief virtual safety car moment to remove a small piece of Pérez’s car from the track. The pit entry was closed and at the end of the lap, the green flag was given again.
Entering the final phase of the race, another virtual safety car, but without major explanations for the reason. Gabriel Bortoleto was in 12th place just over 12 seconds behind and at the end of the lap, green flag again.
Checkered flag and near the final laps, Oscar Piastri was still further back in the pack and managed to overtake Bortoleto, who crossed the finish line in 13th place, the same position as his starting spot.
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